Harry Potter and the Veil
by mattfishman
Summary: Two years after the war, Harry and Gin are living in Grimmauld place, when one night Harry sees a great silver dog outside. Convinced that it was his late godfather, Harry must search for answers and uncover the mystery of "the Veil."
1. Sighting

Harry Potter and the Veil

Chapter 1

Harry Potter woke up with a gasp and frantically looked about the room. Although it had been nearly two years since he defeated Voldemort, he still awoke expecting to see a pair of dark red eyes and a flash of green light. He looked to his side to see his girlfriend, Ginny Weasly (little sister to his best mate), looking back at him, groggy and concerned.

"Was it the dreams again," she asked in a whisper.

Harry sighed. "No," he lied, "I'm just too anxious to sleep."

Ginny sat up and looked at him even more concerned. It was times like this when she most resembled her mother Molly, even to the deep brown tint of her eyes and the way she furrowed her brow. She was truly the most important person in his life and for that he hated how he still had to lie to her. He quickly turned away so not to give too much away, got out of bed and walked to the window.

Ginny looked down for a minute before she spoke. "I know how hard it must be for you to put everything behind you like this. I know you always thought that the Ministry doesn't ever get much done, and we can all understand why, but you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened. He's not coming back."

"I know but it's just so _wrong_! Sirius died four years ago tomorrow and they still have him listed as a criminal. Kingsly said that it was a long process and I know he's doing everything he can but it still doesn't change a thing!" He leaned his head against the window and the cold glass seemed to excite him even worse. "I was at Gringotts the other day and this bloke stops me and thanks me and all that. I had a laugh with him but then he starts rambling on about how it's good that Sirius was gone too! 'Said that he would have come after me because of what I did to Voldemort."

Harry grinded his teeth and continued, "I thought that since they'd gotten Luna's dad and everybody else out of Azkaban, that he would finally get his late godfather's named cleared. People should know that he was a good man, Ginny. They should know how hard he fought for me and for them too! Ugh- OW!"

Ginny jump and rushed to Harry who, in his anger, had punched straight into the bedroom wall and now was on his knees, clutching his right hand- he had a fistful of swollen knuckles. She tried to calm him down as he went on, cursing about the 'damn brick wall'. Trying not to look Harry in the face, she grabbed her want, pointed it at his hand whispering "_Episky,_" and just like that his hand was fixed. "I'll make some tea," she said as she started out the room.

"Wait," Harry whispered, grabbing her wrist. He stood up as she slowly turned to face him. "Thank you, Gin," and he was kissing her on the lips.

After half a moment's surprised resistance, Ginny threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "Anytime," she said with a smile before she danced cheerfully downstairs.

Harry was left there daydreaming to himself about his girlfriend when something bright caught his attention from outside the window. A great white dog was standing just outside. _Sirius!_ Harry opened the window, but it was too late.

He was gone.


	2. Warning

Harry Potter and the Veil

Chapter II

"I think he's finally lost it." Ron and Hermione were sitting across from Harry and an embarrassed-looking Ginny. Harry had invited them to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place to talk about what he had seen earlier that morning.

"Well I know that he couldn't possibly have seen him for real, but there _must_ be a perfectly logical explanation for it," Hermione replied to Ron. They'd both looked pretty much the same as always, if not just older. The only difference was that now her chocolate brown hair was a little shorter and it was straightened. "He's been under a lot of stress lately. He was probably just tired."

"I'm right here, thank you, and I know what I saw!" He glared at his best friends.

Hermione looked quickly to Ginny and then turned to Harry. "Well, it's just that I don't see how you could've really seen him. Besides, Sirius' animagus was a _black_ dog, not white. Are you sure it wasn't one of your neighbor's-"

"NO! I'm telling you Hermione, it was him. I know it was him…"

"-But he was black."

"Maybe it was his patronus then."

"-He's dead, Harry."

"He might have become a ghost then."

"-You saw that he had passed on when you used the Resurrection Stone!"

All the shouting had inadvertently woken up little Teddy who now slept in Regulus' old room. Ginny quickly went to fetch their godchild to calm him down as Ron and Hermione looked at each other nervously.

Ron started, "Seriously though mate, you know that whatever it was you saw isn't want you want it to be. I think Hermione's right about this."

"Shut up!" Frustrated, Harry got up and walked away. In the background he heard Ron whisper to Hermione, "Yeah, he's mental."

Harry tuned that out, though felt confused and betrayed. He knew what he had seen, he was positive. He decided to go to Sirius' room to brainstorm. He lay down on the bed, staring up at a poster of the Chudly Cannons and thought. Though he'd already relived the day in his dreams, he couldn't help remembering the day his godfather had died.

It was four year's ago when they, Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix, had snuck in to the Ministry of Magic in order to steal the prophesy that eventual led to the Dark Lord's demise at Harry's hand. Bellatrix, Voldemort's top lieutenant, was dueling Sirius and Sirius got caught off guard. There was a flash of green light and he fell backwards through some strange object. There was no funeral because his body had disappeared, leaving nothing to bury.

All of a sudden there was a loud 'CRACK' and something wet and heavy landed on top of him and bounced onto the floor.

"Kreacher!" Harry jumped up to see his house elf, bloody and mangled at his feet.

"M-master..." the elf choked out in his toad voice. "Master…"

"I'm here, Kreacher, I'm here," he said picking up the battered elf and placed him on the bed. "What happened to you? How did this happen!? Who-" but he trailed off.

Kreacher looked up at him. His eyes were glossy and seemed out of focus, he had lacerations all over his body and even part of one of his long ears was missing. "M-master!" he stuttered, "K-kreacher has c-c-come to warn Master P-potter."

Harry was muttering countless healing incantations as he trailed the tip of his wand over the poor Kreacher. He turned and shouted towards the hall "Gin! Hermione! Ron! Come quick! Help!!"

"M-master m-must b-b-beware! The v-veil has come un-undone!" Kreacher turned his head and coughed up a massive amount of blood onto the sheets. "--- c-coming and M-master m-must… pr-prepare… the veil is….." Kreacher closed his eyes.

Kreacher! Kreacher, listen to me! I need you to tell me who did this to you? What do you mean? Kreacher, who's coming? Kreacher!"

The elf didn't respond.

"_Ennervate_!" Harry shouted, but the elf did not wake up. "Kreacher, I- I _order_ you to wake up!"

There was a loud scream as Hermione, followed by Ginny and Ron, entered and saw the corpse of the house elf lying cold now on the bloodied bed.

Harry did not look at them, but stared at Kreacher's lifeless body, holding onto one of his small boney hands. This was the second House Elf who had died helping him, remembering Dobby, who still rested by Bill and Fleur's cottage. But that was during the war, so who was it that had killed Kreacher and why? What did Kreacher learn that he sacrificed his life to warn Harry about?

He needed to think. He needed answers. He stood up, turned on the spot, and vanished.


	3. Dark Void

Harry Potter and the Veil

Chapter III

_Snap! _Just like that, Harry Potter apparated at the edge of a thick forest. He threw his Invisibility Cloak over himself and stepped into the bright highroad leading to Godric's Hollow.

Since the war ended, he often found himself coming here to get away from everybody else. Although he was sure Ginny, Ron and Hermione suspected where he liked to run off too, none ever followed him here. Instead, they decided to just give him his space. Sometimes he needed time alone and he knew that he deserved it. The wizarding world owed him that much.

As he walked down the road to his birth town, he thought of the one person who could probably explain everything. He imagined himself sitting in a bright room looking across a great oak desk to the greatest, wisest wizard he'd ever known. He'd spent years fighting in the name of the great late Albus Dumbledore. He'd know exactly what Kreacher's last words meant.

Someone was coming. -Someone that he was supposed to look out for. That person killed Kreacher, and Harry would not forgive him. He'd promised himself in his last battle with Voldemort that he would never let another person die for him. It was decided. He would make things right, and someone would have to pay for what they did.

Looking up, Harry saw that he had finally found the place he was looking for. He took off the Cloak and pulled out his wand. He sat down and with a silent wave in the air, a beautiful bouquet of flowers floated softly onto his mother's grave.

"Mum… Dad…." Harry spoke softly to his parents. He wished that he could have them talk back and tell him what to do. He thought back to when he had temporarily died in the final battle.

He had finally unlocked the Resurrection Stone and was able to see his family who had given him the strength to do what needed to be done. God he wished that he had that same resolve once more. He was completely confused as to what had to be done now and there were no clues, no lights guiding the way.

"_Harry_."

That voice was too familiar. He jumped up to see were it was coming from.

"_Harry_."

He turned around and sure enough, across the cemetery was a great silver dog. _Sirius_.

Harry sprinted towards him, running as fast as he could, calling his name as he went. For a moment as he ran, the sun appeared from behind the clouds. It was so warm and bright that it caused Harry to blink and just like that the black dog had vanished. He stopped running and looked around.

Something was wrong. Everything had changed in the mere blink of an eye. The cemetery was gone. The sky was gone. Nothing remained but him and the black void that surrounded him.

"Hello?" Harry called out, his voice echoing and fading into the background. The only answer he got was a low, menacing growl. He turned around to see the silver dog stalking towards him, its fun standing on end in anticipation. As it got closer, its growls got harsher and its bared teeth reminded Harry of a kind of evil grin.

"Sirius?"_ No_, Harry thought, _That's not him_. His friends were right, this dog was a stranger and apparently it was hungry. Harry caught a glimpse of the bloodlust in the beast's eyes and froze.

_Run!_ Harry told himself. "-I can't." The beast crept closer.

_Move!_ He commanded. "-I can't." The beast lunged at him.

"_NO!_" Harry closed his eyes. He could hear the growling and snarling, but he felt nothing. He opened his eyed and saw the silver dog throwing itself around biting at its shadow. "_Harry, go now,"_ roared the shadow.

"Sirius?" Harry whispered. The shadow let out a yelp as the silver beast dug its jaws into its shoulder. "Sirius!" He was yelling as he ran towards the figure he knew to be his godfather. "Get away from him!" He pulled out his wand and with a wild anger he pointed it at the silver dog and bellowed, "_Stupefy!_" Red sparks shot out of his wand, hitting the beast square in the face and it ran off into the darkness.

Somehow exhausted, Harry fell backwards onto the ground. Just before he blacked out, he could've sworn he saw a great black dog looking down on him.


	4. New Information

Harry Potter and the Veil

Chapter IV

Harry woke up slowly to a bright white ceiling and the smell of disinfectants. He heard muffled voices coming from somewhere nearby. He tried to sit up but gasped in pain, plopping back down on a soft pillow.

"Shh!" one of the voices interrupted, "I think he's waking up!"

He heard a curtain being whisked aside as footsteps approached him.

"Harry?" Ginny asked in a broken voice; she'd been crying.

"Where am I?" His hoarse voice startled him. He didn't sound much better.

"You're in St. Mungo's," Ron replied, "You've been unconscious for nearly three days. What happened to you?"

Harry recounted to Ginny, Ron and Hermione exactly what had happened. By the time he finished his story he half expected to be criticized again, but that never came. They all just sat there, silently contemplating what he'd said.

Just then a young woman, obviously a Healer, walked up. "How're you feeling, Mister Potter?"

Harry looked at her and replied, "Er- well I'm really sore but besides that I can't complain."

"Alright," she said, "Just let me know if you need me for _anything_," making sure to emphasize that last word. Harry blushed and Ginny grimaced.

She smiled and started to walk away, then turned back and added, "Oh, and Kingsley Shacklebolt will be here shortly to visit you."

Harry turned and met Ginny's concerned gaze. The Minister had been too busy dealing with the residual Death Eaters and post-war dealings to do anything else. If he was coming here out of the blue, something was wrong.

Sure enough, a minute later they heard a slow, deep voice return greeting's from the hospital staff in the hall. Kingsley walked in, followed by both Percy and Arthur Weasley. Ron and Ginny greeted their kin as Harry and Hermione welcomed the Minister.

After all the greetings, Kingsley nodded to Arthur, who nodded back at him and got to his feet. He closed the curtain, pointed his wand at it and said "_Muffliato_."

Harry sat up, ignoring the jolts of pain that screamed through all of his muscles. He faced towards the Minister. "What's going on, sir?"

Kingsley turned to Ron's dad, who looked down, then at Harry. Nervously he started, "Well, Harry, it's about Sirius." Harry didn't say anything so he continued. "Since I've been promoted to head of the Department of Mysteries," -Harry interrupted with a congratulations- "I've been going over some files when I came across the incident with the prophecy."

Harry's eyes narrowed. In his mind he saw the green flash, heard the laughter and watched his godfather vanish once more through-

"…the Veil of Styx."

"Huh," Harry said, snapping out the daydream, "What's that?" Mr. Weasley shot him a somewhat annoyed look. He guessed that he'd just missed a lengthy explanation. "Sorry," he added as Ginny rolled her eyes.

Mr. Weasley sighed. "Apparently, there are legends that originated in ancient Greece about the Boatman on the river Styx, who carried the souls of the departed to the Afterlife."

"I remember reading about that in History of Magic our first year!" Hermione blushed when everyone stared at her sudden outburst. She composed herself and turned to Ron's dad and asked, "Mr. Weasley? I don't suppose that you mean this has to do with the Hidden Wife?"

"Well, yes," said Mr. Weasley, not at all surprised that she knew about it. Ron had told him she'd practically memorized the entire library at Hogwarts. They exchanged a glance and smiled.

"Who was the 'Hidden Wife'," Ginny asked.

"Well," Hermione started. This was probably one of her favorites because she puffed up and smiled excitedly before continuing. "As Mr. Weasley said, the Ancient Greeks believed that when they died, the Boatman would carry them across the river Styx to the Afterlife. There are stories, however. One of which says that Hades, the God of the Underworld, sought a new queen to rule Hell with him. One day, while looking up upon the Earth, Hades spotted her and used his magic to draw her towards him."

"The legend says that when she reached the river Styx, the boatman looked saw her and she saw him. They instantly fell in love with each other. He sought to keep her for his own, so he hid her from Hades and made him believe that she'd never came in the first place.

Hades looked for her on Earth but could never find her, so he went to ask the Boatman if she'd come yet. When he reached the edge of the river Styx he saw that the she's been wrapped in a magical veil that had allow her travel from one world to the other, unbeknown to him. As punishment, he forced his would be bride into slavery, and gouged out the eyes of the boatman, so he would never again rob him of another queen. As for the Veil, Hades placed a spell on it that would trap any of those who touched it between the Limbo and the Next World."

Everyone was silent as they absorbed what they just heard, except Ron, who whispered, "Blimey."

"Wait," Harry said, turning back to Mr. Weasley and the Minister, "What does any of this have to do with Sirius?" Everybody looked up as he said it.

"Well," Kingsley said after clearing his throat loudly, "We believe that Sirius may not be dead."


	5. Goodbye Gin

Harry Potter and the Veil

Chapter V

A long silence had overcome the group as they tried to grasp what they had just been told. Percy and Mr. Weasley squirmed uncomfortably in their seats. Kingley Shacklebolt, on the other hand, sat completely at ease, despite the four pairs of bright young eyes that were staring him down.

"How is that possible though?" Ginny blurted out. "Harry saw Sirius get hit by Bellatix's curse." Ginny threw Harry a sympathetic look before continuing, "She used the Killing Curse and Harry's the only known person to have survived it."

Ginny grasped Harry's hand as the Minister of Magic calmly responded, "Well you see we've gone over our Surveillance Orbs and we think that at the exact moment that Sirius fell into the veil, he was not yet completely dead."

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, he cleared his throat before continuing, "Upon some extensive research, the ministry's magical research department has actually concluded that the _Avada Kedavra_ doesn't actually cause instant death. Even though it does still kill, it takes a little more than a few seconds to completely end one's life. Depending on the strength behind the spell, it may take longer for the victim to actually die. For example, Voldemort's Curse would cause death in about five seconds, while Lucius Malfoy's might take about ten to fifteen seconds."

"I don't understand." Harry's words was almost inaudible, but were easily heard in the new silence.

"Depending on the inherent power a wi..."

"-NO!" Harry interrupted. "How long? How long have you known and been keeping this from me?" Harry was almost yelling now.

Kingsley looking taken aback but quickly composed himself. He looked down, and said, "Our suspicions started a little over a year ago."

That did it. Harry's eyes filled with loathing for the man in front of him. He reached for his wand.

Ron caught him and held him to the bed, snatching the wand out of his grasp.

Harry fought against Ron, bellowing at Kingsley, "You Son of a-"

"Harry, calm down," Ginny pleaded.

"He's the minister of Magic! Harry, he's the _Minister_," Hermione added, "You can't talk to him like that!"

"Shut up!" Harry turned to Ginny and Hermione; both their eyes began to tear up. Ashamed of himself, he laid back down and said softly but with a quiet fury, "I think it's time for you to leave, _Minister_."

Although he felt like strangling someone, Harry noticed something in the Minister's face as he got up to leave. "Wait," Harry called out.

The minister turned to Harry once more looking debased. Harry had never seen this man looking so ashamed and distraught. "Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Where's the veil now?" As soon as he had asked, Kingsley's face grew darker and worn. It was then that Harry and the rest of them noticed deep, dark circles under his eyes.

Ginny and Hermione had stopped crying by then. Kingsley swallowed, staring at his feet. "Gone," He said. "About a week ago it just… _vanished_. We think that a rogue faction of Death Eaters must've somehow stolen it."

He then looked up at Harry and said, "I have the a third of the Auror office looking for evidence of any kind and almost half of my Trackers are hunting down information on the streets."

"I want to help," Harry declared. "If it means finding Sirius then I've got to."

A week later Ginny watch silently as Harry packed his old rucksack, wishing that he wouldn't go. She thought that with Voldemort gone, that she and Harry could finally be together. She hated they year that they were separated, and she wasn't willing to go through that again.

She got up and walked to Harry. "No," she said.

Harry didn't stop packing. "We've been over this, Ginny. You know how I feel about this. You know I have to go."

"I can't lose you again Harry," she sniffled.

As Harry turned around to hold her, she ran into his arms, clutching him around the waist.

"Gin…" Harry almost whispered her name as he tilted her chin up. He looked into her tear-filled eyes, wiping away a stray drop with his thumb. He caressed her cheek and bent in to kiss her.

_Snap_! Harry and Ginny both flinched at the sound. Someone was here and the moment was ruined.

Slowly, they both looked up to see Ron, standing there with his own rucksack at his feet.

Harry was about to greet him when Ginny ran from his arms to her brother. _Smack! Smack! Smack! _

"Ouch! Ginny, what the bloody 'ell is your problem?" Ron yelled as Ginny manage to land a good punch right on his nose.

"Ron -_smack_- you –_smack_- are a –_smack_- GIT!" Thankfully, Ginny had stopped attacking him, but stood there still half flustered and angry. Harry laughed. _Like mother like daughter_.

There was another loud snap and everyone turned to see Hermione, with a furious look on her face. As soon as she found him, she practically ran to Ron.

"Ron -_smack_- you –_smack_- are a –_smack_- GIT!"

Harry started laughing, but when Ginny and Hermione both shot him a set of deadly glances, he shut up right quick.

Hermione turned back to Ron, who flinched expecting another bombardment. "You prat! How can you expect me to stay home while you go running off after Death Eaters?"

As Hermione pulled back her fist to hit him again, he caught her by the wrist and pulled her close to him. He whispered something into her ear and her face became even redder than before. Instead of hitting him, though, she threw her arms around his neck, whispering, "Oh, Ron!"

While their friends were preoccupied, Ginny led Harry to the kitchen. She grabbed his face and pressed her lips desperately to his. They hadn't kissed like this since the war. It was full of sadness and hope, all mixed together as if they were the same emotion.

Harry returned the embrace with one hand running through her strawberry scented hair and the other wrapping around her waist, pulling her up to her tiptoes and deeper into the kiss.

After long, they slowly pulled away from each other, panting lightly. They both wished that they could stay together like that, but knew that there were things that needed to be done.

Harry looked into her light brown eyes and she looked into his green. "Ginny I…"

She put a finger to his lips and said, "Just hurry back, okay? And watch out for my brother, he's a bit of a git."


	6. Back to School

Harry Potter and the Veil

Chapter VI

Ron and Harry arrived at the Three Broomsticks with time to spare.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley."

The two boys turned around to see Tom the Barman cleaning a glass behind the counter.

"Sir," they both said, nodding at him before taking a couple of seats.

"Kingsley sent word you two would be passing through with the others," tom said placing two butterbeers down on the counter. When he saw them rustle in their pockets, he added, "No charge, boys; not for heroes."

"Er, thanks," Harry said. "Wait, there are others coming too?"

"Harry Potter?"

The two boys turned around to see an extremely beautiful girl who was about the same age as them. She had a slight tan and long, jet black hair. She was dressed muggle-rocker style, and she had smoldering gold eyes fixed intently on Harry's own. She smiled as she spotted the lightning-shaper scar on his forehead, her hand out stretched.

Harry took it in his own, admiring the softness of her grasp. "Er, yeah," he said, "This is my friend—"

" -Ronald Weasley," she cut in, turning to greet him as well.

"'Ron's' fine," he said beaming at her as he shook her hand, a little too eagerly. She blushed. "And you are?" He asked.

Her smile grew wider as she announced, "Seraphina Hughes, but you can call me Sera." With that she winked at Harry and a voice called from over her shoulder.

"Hey! Quit flirting Sera!" A muscular guy walked up from behind her. He had silver hair, though still looked very young, maybe mid-twenties. He looked down at Harry and Ron, seemingly intrigued. "Timour," he told them, "or Tim. I am Sera's brother."

"Harry Potter."

"Ron Weasly."

"Ah, no wonder my baby sister is being so polite!" He laughed a hardy laugh.

"Timmy!" Sera's face was red and she pouted, making her look much more childlike.

"What? You punched a guy in the nose an hour ago just for saying hi!" He laughed again and Ron shifted uncomfortable in his seat.

"You saw the way he was looking at me," she protested.

He kept laughing. "That's why I punched him, too!" Harry now laughed as well, but Ron wriggled further away in his seat.

That's when Tom piped up. "Okay trainees, the portkey is almost ready. You'd better hurry." He motioned to the back room. "It's this way."

At that, Harry, Ron, Sera, Tim, a blonde witch and another wizard followed Tom behind the counter. Once they got into the backroom, Tom pointed to a glowing broken clock placed in the center of the room. "Ten seconds."

Everyone quickly filed around the clock and touched it.

"Five seconds. See you kids, good luck"

"See ya' 'round" Sera sang. Harry closed his eyes.

"Three, two, o—"

With that Harry felt as his body lurched every which way at once. He felt himself curl up into nothingness then pop back into being. When he opened his eyes, he was quite confused. They were in a large castle corridor, with mounted suits of armor on either wall. It was quite familiar, much like Hogwarts, but it didn't have the same presence and there was a distinct smell of lavender and leather.

"Where—" He heard Ron begin, but that question was already being answered. Out from a large doorway came Kingsley Shacklebolt, flanked by a group of witches and wizards that Harry did not recognize.

"Sorry about the portkey," he said in his slow, deep voice. "It seems out aim was a bit off. If you please, the other trainees are already here."

"There are more of us?" Ron asked.

_Of course there are_, Harry thought to himself. Sera and the others with them were proof that they were not alone.

"Definitely," the Minister of Magic responded. "This way, please."

As he led them through the doors he had come from, Harry was shocked at the number of trainees already seated at various tables. This hall was as big as the Great Hall in Hogwarts, without the enchanted sky, but the tables were just as full.

"Please take a seat," Kingsley instructed, motioning to a few open seats at a nearby table before proceeding to the front of the hall, the other wizards following after him.

He cleared his throat loudly and the whole room turned to him with silent lips and curious eyes.

"For those of you who do not yet know, you are currently sitting in the Great Hall of the Shacklebolt Prison that has been in my family for many, many generations. It was at one time the Azkaban of older days; the place where the most heinous of our kind spent their last days wallowing in the guilt of what they'd done. This castle is ancient, unplottable, and impenetrable. For that reason, this place is the perfect site for the training you are about to undergo."

He took a few moments, as if considering what was in store for them before continuing. "While all of you have been deemed potential candidates, the Ministry of Magic is only interested in the best of the best. For that reason, you will be placed in groups of six and tested to see who is worthy and who shall be going home. Only half of you will remain."

"The exercise will begin in one hour, at which time you shall receive your objectives. Your groups shall be composed of those that you traveled here with, so I suggest that you prepare yourselves and get to know your teammates in the meantime."


	7. Preliminaries and a Complication

Harry Potter and the Veil

Chapter VII

Kingsley Shacklebolt stood before them and with a slight smile he snapped his fingers.

The Great Hall was thrown into instant clamor as the long tables each morphed into a number or smaller round ones. Chairs were scraping against the hard stone floor, each carrying their passenger to the table where their teammates sat.

Luckily for Harry, his team was already together so the transition was very slight. As the table's edges finished rounding themselves, everyone was looking around at the other faces seated around them.

Once it was finished, Harry's chair shuddered, forcing him to stand up. Everyone looked at him, waiting for his introduction. "Er… Well my name's Harry Potter. As you probably know I helped defeat Voldemort (only Ron wiggled uncomfortably at the name), but I hope that that won't affect how you come to think of me." He looked to Sera and Tim before adding, "I already met a few of you and I, Er, look forward to working with you." With that He sat back down and he saw Sera flash him an overly friendly smile and he blushed as Ron was pushed up to go next.

As Ron began, however, a deep voice whispered to Harry, "Would you mind a few minutes, Harry?"

"Not at all, sir," Harry replied, exchanging a look with Ron. He excused himself from the table, and followed the Minister out of the Great Hall, and down a corridor. He and Kingsley passed through a room that had a black metal door with golden designs etched into it. Kingsley sat down behind a large oak desk and Harry took a seat across from him.

"Have you found out anything new about the whereabouts of the Veil?" Harry asked, deciding to get straight to the point. He wasn't at all worried about tact.

Kingsley knew that he and the rest of the ministry were on his last nerve. He had agreed to let Harry and Ron join the efforts, with conditions, of course. They had to participate and successfully complete the advanced crash training course that he had developed due to the great need for new Aurors. "Not yet," he replied, "But I promise that I will fill you in on new information as soon as it is confirmed."

"Right then," Harry said. He eyed the minister scrupulously. "Is there something else, sir?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled. "Yes, as a matter-of-fact, there is. As you know, Mr. Weasley and you will be permitted to aid in the search for the Veil of Styx so long as you undergo this training."

"Yes," Harry said dully. "That's why we came. And?"

"Well, your group was hand selected by myself and a few advisors to participate in an accelerated training. It is very hands-on and there are only a few groups even eligible. Should you and your group pass the preliminary trial, then you will all be ready for fieldwork in under three months' time. It will take an immense effort on your part because normally, Auror training is a year-long course, but we're condensing it all together."

Harry was speechless. He thought he would have to wait to start looking for Sirius. He thought that he wouldn't be able to see Ginny for even longer. Harry face lit up at that thought. "Sir…I dunno what to say! Thank you so much!"

Anxious to get back to the Great Hall, Harry got up to leave.

"One last thing, Harry," Kingsley called out.

Harry stopped and turned on his heel, still beaming. "Yes, sir?"

"What we've talked about is to stay between you and me until after the preliminaries. You are not to tell any of your teammates about the accelerated program. Even Ron must not yet know."

"But sir, Ron's my best mate," Harry pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but it is very important that they act without this knowledge. I'm sticking my neck out just by telling you. I only did so as an act of good faith, but in return, I only ask that you keep it to yourself, for now at the very least."

Harry sighed. "Yes sir, I understand. Thank you very much." He heard Kingsley call out 'good luck' as he left the office and headed back to the Great Hall.

When Harry arrived back at his table, introductions were already over. Ron and Tim were talking Quidditch; Sera and a girl he recalled to be Rosalie Sommer, one of the Beauxbatons from during the TwiWizard tournament, talking mindlessly as well. They saw him looking and giggled.

Embarrassed at being caught staring, Harry turned to the stranger sitting to his right. He was muttering strange words under his breath while reading from a small book. "Uhm, hi," Harry said politely. "I don't believe we've met."

The stranger only glanced at him. "Zack Cronkite." he said and returned to his book.

_Wow, he seems like a barrel of fun,_ Harry thought to himself. Deciding that he wouldn't get much more out of Zach, he looked around the hall at the other trainees.

There were all different kinds of people there: young, old, short, tall. He thought they were all strangers until he met the gaze of Oliver Wood, Harry's fellow Gryffindor and former captain of their Quidditch team. They waved at each other. Oliver looked as if he was about to come over when Kingsley appeared in front of them yet again.

"It is time," he said, "for you to learn about the preliminary trial."

When the chatter finally died down, he continued. "The first trial is one that shall test both your personal and interpersonal skills as wizards." He waved his wand and on each of the tables a large crystal ball appeared.

"Before I explain what it is you shall be doing, I must inform you all of a most curious new rule. Right now, each of you has the opportunity to leave now and apply to come back after a two-year probation. However, should you accept the challenge and fail you will lose all eligibility of becoming an Auror for the rest of your life."

With that, the hall was in uproar. People yelled at the Minister about how that rule is unfair and others boo'd and hissed. He pointed his wand to his throat and commanded silence in the form of an uncharacteristically booming loud voice. Everyone shut up instantly.

"That's better," he said in his normal voice once more. "In order to keep all our teams at an equal and ideal size, should one person decide to leave, then the entire group must also leave. As I said, all of you will be able to return in after two years' time." He waited a minute then cleared his throat. "All those wishing to leave now may do so. Please follow my associates out to the main entrance where transportation home will be waiting."

Chairs were scraping from all around him as people got up to leave. Harry turned back to the group. Everyone's eyes were looking critically at each other's. Only Zach remained as uninterested as ever with his nose further in his book. Nobody from his group got up, however, which was a huge relief to Harry. He looked around the hall once more. Just over half of the original number of trainees remained.

When the last of those bound for home was gone, the hall doors closed ominously. Harry gulped. Kingsley looked around the room at the faces of those who remained.

He smiled and calmly said, "Congratulations to all of you, for passing the preliminary trial. Welcome to the Auror Training Program."

The whole hall was dead silent, then quickly erupted into an explosion of cheers and laughter from the trainees. The Minister and those on either side of him were clapping, some more furiously than others.

Once more he quieted everybody down, this time a little more gingerly, before continuing. "Training will begin tomorrow morning, but for now I must ask you all to retire to your quarters. Merely place a hand on the ball on the table, say "headquarters", and you will instantly arrive in your common rooms. I'll see you bright and early, so for now I bid you goodnight."

All at once the whole room seemed to call out a single word.

After half a second, Harry and the five others were standing in the middle of a brightly decorated room.

Ron slapped Harry on the back and Rosalie hugged him; Harry laughed when he blushed. Hermione didn't have to know about that. That night, they celebrated with more than a few bottles of firewhisky. They spent the whole night drinking, joking, and getting to know each other better.

When he got tired, Harry decided to get to bed, heading for the room marked "H. Potter" on the door in gold cursive. As he opened the door, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to see who it was and found a pair of soft lips crushing against his own.

Harry didn't know what was going on. A thousand different thought coursed through his brain, none of them were relevant. He was too drunk to care about much. The only thing he cared about was the taste that streaked across his lips. When he realized what was going on and snapped out of his daze. He heard Tim yelling and Sera pulled away from him and smiled warmly.

"Congratulations, Harry," she said with a wink.

Although he knew it was wrong he smiled back and gave her a long hug. "You too Sera," he whispered in her ear.

She returned to the party as Harry lay down in bed, thinking of her, and thinking of Ginny. He didn't know if it was the firewhisky, but his head was really hurting.


End file.
